Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-16
GENERAL NEWS.
Railroad Lands Declared
Public Domain.
SECRETARY LAMAR'S DECISION
The Arizona Bandits OutmanPuv-
ering Their WOuld-be Cap
tOrs-FOreign Notes.

Associated Press Dispatches to the HERALD.
WASHINGTON, August l5.-The Sec
retary of the Interior to-day revoked
the order of withdrawal OF indemnity
lands for the benefit of the Atlantic
and Pacific Railroad Company, and in
a long letter to the Commissioner of
the general land office, directs thatthey
may be restored to settlement under
the pre-emption and homestead laws.
SYNOPSIS OF THE DECISION.
Secretary Lamar's letter, which is
very long, says that he has considered
the showing made by the Atlantic and
Pacific Railroad and reviews in detail
the section of the act granting the
land. After this review he says that
it is apparent from the granting clause
of said act that the grant was not one
of quantity but for certain number
of sections in the place and if not
there, then it gives the privilege of
looking for the deficiency in restricted
limits therefore if the company does
not get the full amount of sections with
in the primary limit and fails to make
up its losses in the secondary limits,
there is not violation Of contract any
where that l can see, but only the
happening of a contingency plainly
contemplated by the act, subject to
which the company made the con-
tract. #|h fTE
AUTHORIZED BY THE ACT.
1t is manifest that the act gave us
special authority or direction to with
draw said land, and when such with
drawal was made it was done by vir-
tue of the general authority over such
matters possessed by the Secretary of
the Interior and in the exercise of his
discretion. No law could be
violated, no contract be broken, and
the company would be placed exactly
in the position which the law gave it,
and would be deprived Of no rights ac-
quired Hereunder. 1t would yet have
its right to select an indemnity for the
lost lands. In doing so, it would
have no advantage over the settler, as
it has now, in the contravention of
the policy of the Government in the
denial of the rights unquestionably
conferred upon settlers by the land
laws of the country.
THE INDEMNITY SELECTION.
The Secretary then answered, at
great length, some of the points made
by the Railroad Company in its an
swer, in which it required the Govern
ment to select other granted lands as
an indemnity, and shows that the let
ter of the law has been strictly COM
piled with.
RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. .s=
After quoting at length the original
contract between the Government and
the Railroad Company, he says:
Criticism upon the alleged short
comings of the Government with re-
spect to this grant comes with an ILL
grace from this Company. The people,
who form the Government, have some
rights under the grant as well as the
Company"
THE LAND is THROWN OPEN.
On full consideration of the whole
subject l conclude that the withdrawal
for indemnity purposes of land per-
missible under the law was solely by
virtue of the executive authority, and
may be revoked by the same authori-
ty; that such revocation would not be
a violation of either law or equity land
that said land having been so long
withheld for the benefit of the COM
pany, the time has arrived when pub
lie policy and justice demand that the
withdrawal should be revoked and
some regard had for the rights of
those seeking and needing homes on
the public domain.
RESULT OF THE DECISION.
1t is stated that between 25,000, 900
and 30 900 900 acres were involved in
this decision in the case of the At
lantic & Pacific road alone, and the
order also applied to all OF the other
railroads named on the secretary's
rules of May 23d last, except the st.
Paul, Minnesota & Manitoba; Hast
ings & Dakota; st. Paul & Pacific
st. Paul & Sioux City; Sioux City q
st. Paul, and the Union 4 st. Peter
roads. These are still under consider
alton and undecided.